Share via e-mail

NEW YORK — The state Parole Board ruled Thursday that Anthony D. Marshall, 89, the son of philanthropist and socialite Brooke Astor, has grown so frail and sick that he will be paroled from prison after serving about 60 days of his 1- to 3-year sentence.

The decision was a turnaround from assurances by state and city correction officials two months ago that the prisons were well equipped to handle Marshall’s health care needs.

Several court decisions since Marshall was sentenced in 2009 also held that Marshall’s age and health should not preclude him from serving his sentence.

His lawyers made the requested medical parole shortly after Marshall entered prison on June 21. They said he could not walk, stand, clean himself, or dress himself and had potentially life-threatening swallowing issues.

Marshall and Francis X. Morrissey Jr., an Astor family lawyer, were convicted in 2009 of stealing tens of millions of dollars from Astor. Prosecutors said the two tricked Astor, who was more than 100 years old and had Alzheimer’s disease, into altering her will to give the money to Marshall.